Largest city

Official languages

- President

- Vice President

Population

History

Established

July 4, 1776

The United States of America (USA), more commonly known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a federal constitutional republic situated mostly in central North America. Its 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, rests between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean such as Puerto Rico.

The State of Alderney is based on the state of New Jersey and is located to the west of Liberty City. Although the two states are completely independent from one another, Alderney City is known by many as being part of Liberty City's metropolitan area. It is part of the main setting of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Locations

The State of San Andreas, which contains three large cities and rural areas with small towns between, is located in the American Southwest, considering it has large deserts. The 3D Universe's Liberty City is located somewhere in the Northeast, since it snowed in the mission Saint Mark's Bistro in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and the player must fly eastwards to get there. The Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City is in Liberty City State, also located on the East Coast. Note that the 3D Universe and HD Universe do not follow the same canon.

Vice City is located in the South of the United States. Unlike the other cities featured in-game, Vice City is the only known fictional city to be located in a real-life state, as various characters refer to the city as being located in Florida.

In all the games (excluding GTA V), the cities are always located on several islands connected by bridges. They appear to be isolated islands in the middle of the sea, but this is due to game limitations. Rockstar Games have stated that they avoid placing unreachable pieces of land within the games to keep the complete feel to the game. There are multiple islands, and every game except GTA V starts with certain bridges blocked, restricting the player from exploring the entire city at the start of the game. There is always a story why the bridges are shut, sometimes relative to the location of the game; for example, the bridges in Vice City are shut due to hurricane warnings, while in HD-era Liberty City, they are blocked due to to terrorist threats, and bridges in San Andreas are blocked because of a major earthquake and Frank Tenpenny warning Carl that he couldn't leave the town. These restrictions are lifted as the story progresses, with the earlier reason for them being closed having passed, unlocking new parts of the city/state for the player to explore.

Secondary

Other cities are mentioned as well and some of them are the main settings of other Rockstar's videogames:

Bullworth is a town in New England, and is where the game Bully takes place, apparently as a bridge between the 3D and HD Universes. GTA IV contains references to Bully, as Bully contains references to 3D Universe.

Carcer City is an industrial city possibly based in Alderney State or Liberty State, and is where the game Manhunt takes place. It takes place in the 3D Universe. There are references to Manhunt in GTA III during a news segment on the radio saying that Carcer City is not too far from Liberty City.

It is unknown whether New Austin, Nuevo Paraiso, and West Elizabeth are in the same universe, as there are no references to indicate this, but nothing to contradict it either; however, the real states of New York and California are mentioned in the game, so all three regions may be in a different universe. However, Sandy Shores (small town which featured in GTA V) has a street named Cholla Springs Avenue, a reference to a desert location in Red Dead Redemption. There is also a car hire business named Escalera Rent-A-Car, a reference to the Nuevo Paraiso town of Escalera. Also in GTA Online, you can pick John Marston or a descendant of the aforementioned to be your father.

Tony also refers Ohio as stated in a Liberty Tree article: " If I wanted to go to bed at 8 pm everyday, I would go to Ohio. Not that there's anything wrong with Ohio. I just used it as an example".

In a GTA IV commercial for the in-game movie Dragon Brain, California was mentioned.

Politicians

Throughout the GTA games, numerous United States politicians are mentioned, including presidents, congressmen, governors, and mayors. These include both fictional and real-life individuals. Fictional U.S. politicians are used to parody several real-life individuals as well as the U.S. and local governments.

3D Universe

Presidents

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) - In GTA San Andreas, set in 1992, The Truth mentions John F. Kennedy and his assassination.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) - Mentioned on the radio and his photo is an Easter egg in GTA Vice City.

George W. Bush (2001-2009) - The Liberty Tree article "The W Comes To Town" shows George W. Bush having just been elected president at the time of GTA III, entirely canon with real-life events.

Congressmen

Alex Shrub (?-1986) - A fictional right-wing Florida congressman appearing in GTA Vice City whose name and mannerisms are based on George H.W. Bush, voices his intention to run for president, although he fails after his affair with porn star Candy Suxxx becomes public (all of this happening in 1986). Said affair became a very public spectacle, even across the country in San Andreas where photos of Shrub and Suxxx are seen on Carl Johnson's wall.

Others

Even though the Grand Theft Auto video games are made in the United Kingdom, specifically Edinburgh, Scotland, they are released first in the United States of America, and subsequently Canada followed by the UK and Europe. The games are primarily based on American popular culture, and nearly all have been set in fictitious (or copied) locations on the American mainland. The music, the clothes, the slang, and the abundance of vehicles in the game are considerably of American origin.

The Idaho, the Washington and the Tampa are vehicles named after American states and cities of the same name.

Several weapons in Grand Theft Auto V are stated to be of an American origin or manufactured by American firearm manufacturers.

Trivia

Multiple real-life U.S. states are featured in GTA V, on the wall of the filling station near Trevor's Trailer, in the form of number plates. The states included are Washington, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, and California (included twice, with different designs). There is also a plate with the year 1965 on it, with the rest of the text covered up.

The 1965 plate is more than likely from Ohio or based off of the Ohio plates from that time.